Re: Out Of Memory in v. 2.1

Stephen C. Tweedie (sct@redhat.com)
Wed, 7 Oct 1998 13:20:42 +0100


Hi,

On Tue, 6 Oct 1998 09:47:33 -0500 (CDT), Shaun Wilson
<plexus@ionet.net> said:

> if it's a program in user spae allocating that memory it is teh admin's
> job to correct teh situation IMHO. That is what they they are there for.
> If there's anyone running an open linux system that does not have top in
> a VC or screen sorting by mem usage there is a problem.

> If there is a framework/application that does not properly manage an event
> such as oom on it's own then it needs to be addressed and fixed.

You are missing the point entirely.

An application which allocates all memory until malloc returns 0 may
decide to deal with the oom by stopping more allocations. Your system
still has no free memory left. Your sysadmin can't log in, run
"kill", or do diddly-squat about it unless an existing program is
killed or exits.

Once you have allowed a user process to eat all memory in the first
place, you have *already* lost the game unless you have a kernel
mechanism for killing large processes.

--Stephen

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